Adventure of the Torn Map
by xXSourApplesXx
Summary: Young Sherlock Holmes and John Watson attempt to solve the case of a murdered school teacher, but it turnes out to be far more tangled than it seems.
1. Chapter 1 An Adventure Afoot

**Chapter One.**

**An Adventure Afoot.  
>Watson<strong>

As the bell rang, I smiled and thought, "Another day of school is over!" But it faded when I continued," ... and another evening of homework is on its way." I sighed.

"Hullo Watson!" Holmes came up behind me.

"Oh, hullo Holmes."

"So, I heard what happened to you in chemistry class today." He said trying to hold back his laughter.

"Oh you did, did you? Well what about what _you_ did in biology class? Hmmm? I heard you didn't do so _well _either." I said trying to defend myself.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said holding his stomach and turning green. Now _I _was the one trying to hold back my laughter.

"All I know is that I cannot do that again, and that I'm possibly going to fail that class because of that… incident." Holmes said matter-of-factly with a grimace at the end.

"I agree with you on the fact that you cannot do that again." I chuckled "But I don't believe you'll fail the class. Why, all you need is the right instructions, and I'm sure you'll do just fine when the test comes around." Then he gave me the most mischievous look, then said," Say, Watson, you're good at biology aren't you?"

"Yes, I suppose I am."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Probably not. Why? What are you thinking?" I asked puzzled.

"Could you help me with my biology? Please? I need to pass this class or Mycroft's going to kill me!"

"Of course I could. On one condition: You help me with my chemistry. If I concoct another of those wretched potions incorrectly again, that teacher will surely drop me from his class! I cannot let that happen."

"It's a deal then. Do you suppose you could come to my house to start in on that homework?"

"I think I could, but I'd have to ask my father's permission first, and be back before supper. I suppose I could be there by four o' clock." I said with a smile.

"Then four o' clock it shall be then." He said and returned the smile, then ran off to catch up with his brother, who was already walking down the street.

There was an odd feeling of an adventure just around the corner of the cobblestone street. Maybe I was just in over my head….

"But why can't I come Johnny? You're just going to do home work," complained my sister when I told her where I was going.

"Because it is just going to be us boys, and you said that boys are 'icky.' And it just wouldn't be proper."

"Did not, and since when were you ever use the word 'proper.'"

"Did too, and don't deny it. Since always. Now, I have to leave now to get there on time."

"Did you ask Dad?" She said with a mocking tone in her voice.

"Yes," said I with the same tone. She sighed in defeat, and bounced off to her room.

"You ready to get this pile of homework done Watson?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

"I feel the same way." He said as we went in the study to do our homework.

I helped him with his Biology, and he helped me with Chemistry. But we actually did more talking than homework.

"My sister really wanted to come, you know."

"Why on earth would she want to do homework with us?"

"I don't know…Maybe she likes you," said I with a slight smile. But wait, did my eyes deceive me? Did he just blush?

"Maybe you like her?"

"Well… I, uh…." said he as he was nervously sticking his pencil in the floor boards. Then all of a sudden the floor burst open, and I was staring into complete blackness.

Holmes was sitting right on top of the secret door when it opened and it half through him across the room.

"Holmes? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I think so," said he getting up and dusting himself off.

We both stood there, just looking down into the blackness. There were old, worn steps going down there. It looked scary. I was rather wary of going down there, while Holmes was looking for a match a lamp, ready to go.

"Why don't we go down and take a look see, shall we Watson?" I don't know which scared me more, going down there, or the gleam in his eye.

"We should probably stay and do our homework…"

"Who stays and does homework when there is a secret passage way to be explored? I'll tell you who: Weasels. Weasels who are scared of the dark. And that is the last thing I'll be."

"I'm not a weasel, and I'm certainly not scared of the dark." said I defiantly. I took the lit lamp from his hand, which he held out to me, and led the way…. What was I doing…?

It was a long way down, and it got to the point where I had the only light. It was very dusty. The first thing I saw was cases of dusty books.

"Watson! Books! Oh we've hit the jackpot." Holmes exclaimed in a rush of excitement. But that wasn't all that was in the room. Also there was an old desk and chair, with old, dark green upholstery, and new quill and ink.

"Watson! Come quick! I think I hear footsteps!" Holmes whispered urgently. I took two steps and down I went. I suppose it was my turn to fall.

"You alright?"

"…No," I sighed wearily. What on earth did I trip over?

"Bravo Watson! I believe you've made a discovery!" He whispered, helping me to my feet. I turned around to see what I tripped over. It was a big brown leather chest. It had a lock, but it was sawed off.

"Let's investigate, shall we-"he was interrupted by somebody coming through the door. We both hid behind the gigantic chest, for it was big enough.

We didn't know what to expect. Holmes quickly turned down the light just as a young man stepped in the door way.

"Who goes there?" cried the man. "Well, come on out!" He shouted even louder. Holmes and I held up our hands and blinked.

We stared at him, and he stared at us. Then all of a sudden he burst out laughing, and it startled us both. We also started laughing, but it was more out of nervousness, and we put our hands down.

"Why, I haven't had visitors is a _long_ time! My name is Grover. Come, have a seat."

He led us into another room which had some chairs and a little table with treats on a tray.

"Go ahead; help yourselves to a treat or two. By the way, what are your names?"

"Oh, I'm Holmes, Sherlock Holmes and this is John Watson."

"What fine names for fine boys." I smiled at the comment, while Holmes looked curiously at the man.

"So, how do you live down here?" Holmes asked curiously.

"Oh, well, that's easy once you get the hang of it." He said with a chuckle. Then he went on this tangent about what life was like to live down here. Holmes listened with the utmost interest to this round-about narrative. I thought it was boring.

"You don't have today's paper on you do you?" Mr. Grover asked.

"I don't, but I could get you one if you like." offered Holmes.


	2. Chapter 2 Newspapers and Favors

**Chapter Two  
>Newspapers and Mysteries<br>Mycroft**

Our grandfather always told us, "Wherever the Holmes' boys go adventure is sure to follow." I never really believed him… until now.

It was unusually quiet in the study where my brother and his friend were supposed to be doing their home work. So I decided to go check them, for Watson should probably be heading home soon anyways. I didn't even bother to put down the newspaper I was reading.

Below and behold, they weren't even in the room! I took a glance around and noticed that the lamp was gone. Now as I look down, I see why. There was a trap door open beneath a rug. So he must have gone down to explore. Poor Watson.

I suppose I should go get them now. So, I took the matchbook, lit one, and headed downwards, wishing I had a better light.

When I finally got down the twenty-two steps I heard talking coming from behind a door in front of me. I took two steps and the door swung wide open and out went my match.

"Sherlock, what on earth are you doing down here?"

"I got side tracked. Is this today's paper?"

"Sure, but why do you need-"

"Thank you!" Said he as he bounced off into the room from which he came. Alright, now I'm curious.

"Here's the newspaper you asked for Mr. Grover," said Sherlock as I followed him into the room he came out of. There is Watson, but who is the other? Probably the man Sherlock's referring to as Mr. Grover. He is a young man, but obviously had a rough life. There's an eye patch over his right eye.

"Thank you sonny. You know, it's a rare treat that I get to read the paper."

"Why is that?" asked Watson.

"Well it's sort of a long story, and sort of has to do with why I'm down here instead of up there in my house."

"You could tell it now. We've got some time left."

"Oh, no. Not right now sonny. Maybe later-"Mr. Grover's face dropped as he looked at the paper.

"What is it Mr. Grover?"

"I know this man, maybe you too," was his enigmatic answer. Watson's ears perked up as me and Sherlock looked over his shoulder.

"Murder last night on school grounds. [He read] Mr. Barnaby, a teacher at that school, is the unfortunate victim."

There was a very long pause, he leaned back in his chair and said, "Sonny, would you mind doing a favor for Mr. Barnaby?"

"Of course not, Mr. Grover. What do you want me to do?" He waved for Watson to come over.

"What I want you to do is go and find out all you can about this murder from the Yarder's, write it down and come back here, and report what you found. Think you can do that Sonny?"

"Sure I can!" I gave him a keen sideways glance. "But it _is_ getting late I suppose," he started carefully, "Do you think we can maybe do that tomorrow?"

"Of course, but here let me give you this notebook so you can write the details in, then you can just go do what I asked you to do, and not have to come back to get the notebook. Ah, here it is. There you go Sonny."

Sherlock didn't even look at it as he, without missing a beat, passed it to Watson who took it with a smile.

"Now you two be careful out there."

"We will be. C'mon Watson you should probably be going home now. Good bye for now Mr. Grover."

"Good bye Sonny."


	3. Chapter 3 A Mystery Solving We Go!

**Chapter Three  
>A Mystery-Solving We Go!<br>Watson**

"You are sure you want to go Watson? You don't have to if you don't want to…." Holmes says to me with that same gleam in his eye that hasn't quite gone away since we went down the secret passageway.

"Of course I want to go! I got the notebook don't I?"

"Good! We need an early start tomorrow, but not too early as tomorrow is Saturday. We shall meet here about eight o' clock?"

"Sounds like a plan! Good bye."

"Good bye Watson, see you tomorrow."

Tomorrow came quickly and I arrived at eight o' clock with the notebook in hand. We started off for the school to learn all we could and report back to Mr. Grover.

When we finally got to the school it seemed like every Yarder in London was there investigating the sudden and mysterious death of Mr. Barnaby. We had the hardest time trying to get a hold of their attention for even a moment, but finally a constable named Bradstreet realized we were here.

"Just what do you think you are doing here, and who are you anyway?"

"We are students here and were just wondering what has happened last night." Holmes stated confidently.

"Oh you are, are you? Well I suppose I should tell you then," said he with obvious sarcasm in his voice.

"I believe you should constable, for we are also investigating, for a friend of ours who knows this fellow Mr. Barnaby."

"So! I've got a couple of junior inspectors on my hands!" He scoffed. "Yeah right, like I'm going to let a couple of kiddies onto an official crime scene. Why don't you two go find a game to play somewhere far away from here, and let Scotland Yard do its job?"

"Fine. We'll just have to find some other way. Let's go Watson."

Holmes started to walk down the street, and I followed him around to the other side of the school. It seemed like all the inspectors were just on that one side of the school.

"There he is Watson." Holmes said as he walked slowly to the school yard.

As we stepped inside, we found Mr. Barnaby lying on the ground with a stab wound in his side. Near-by potted plants were knocked over in a struggle of some sort.

"You know Watson, my grandfather was a real great detective, and he taught me everything he knows. He always said, 'Observation is key.' So, this is what I observe. He was in a hurry to get somewhere. Notice his un-shaven face."

"Maybe he was growing a beard?"

"Really Watson? I highly doubt that. No, he was in a hurry, but to where…" Holmes trailed off, and then jumped back into action.

"Notice his hat and boots; they are in poor condition for a teacher, are they not." He looked closely at his hat.

"Yes, but what does that mean?"

"That means either his wife is upset with him or-"

"He was in a hurry." I sighed.

"Yes, that is a keen observation Watson. Now since I see no ring on his finger or any sign it has existed, I believe the latter is true. Now to answer the question, where was he going?"

"Or running away from."

"Capitol Watson! Now we are getting somewhere. There might be a clue of some sort in his pockets." He knelt down to check, but was interrupted by the constable who was looking over our shoulders.

"Hold it there lad! What do you think you're- Wait a minute. Didn't you just try to get in here a while ago? Oh! You're a sneaky one, you are! Come with me lad. You've gotten yourself into some trouble now."

"We'll see about that," Holmes muttered to himself.

He took us across the school yard to where the other Scotland Yarders were hard at work.

"Watson, look over there." Holmes whispers to me. I look in the direction he's pointing and see a pocket watch, a pencil and little pieces of paper.

"That must be what they found in Mr. Barnaby's coat pockets."

"Yes, it must be. We should take a look at it before we go."

"And how are we going to do that?" I whispered carefully, making sure the inspector didn't hear me.

"I've got an idea." He said with a sly grin, then he turned to the inspector and said, "Say inspector! Look over there! That man just stole a ladies purse! Go catch him before he gets away!" And he pointed to a man, most likely _not_ a burglar.

"Stop you thief!" shouted the inspector angrily which made the unsuspecting fellow turn around to see this man. This of course made the man run, and the inspector chased him leaving us by ourselves.

"Now to continue our investigation." Holmes proclaimed with an air of victory.

"Alright… Hey, look at this. This note is addressed to Mr. Grover, and the other is addressed to… my uncle? And they both say the same thing, and both don't make any sense. How curious."

"Well, I would understand the one being addressed to Mr. Grover, for they were friends and all. But the other addressed to your uncle is very curious indeed."

Just then an inspector told another that there was a burglary.

"With me Gregson. There's been a burglary at the Barnaby Residence. Now let's get going before the burglar gets too far away. And find Bradstreet where ever the devil he went!"and they were off in a flash.

"Ah, the plot thickens. Quick Watson, copy the notes, word for word, so we can show Mr. Grover when we get back. We will have to look at all that later, but for right now we are going to- tag along with Scotland Yard."

"Right and just how are we going to do that?" I asked, puzzled.

"Well, we are going to jump on the back of one of their traps, and then when it stops at Mr. Barnaby's house we get underneath it until the coast is clear, and then we go in after them hiding behind something whenever they pass. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds like a plan for trouble."

"Now's our chance Watson!"

And just in time we jumped on the back.


	4. Chapter 4 Burglar!

**Chapter Four.  
>Burglar!<br>Sherlock**

The mischievous plan of mine actually worked… until we got there. There was no way we would make inside without getting caught by at least five constables and/or Yarders at once. But, of course, we were going in one way or another if I had any say-so. So we made a mad dash to the back yard to try to find a way to get in without getting caught. As we were sneaking our way past, I overheard some Yarders talking about the burglar.

"Did you ask the maids what the burglar looked like and which way he came from?"

"I sure did. She said he was a tall chap, with dark brown eyes and light blond hair. He broke through the window in the study on the first floor. He was a fast fellow he was. Not even the stable boy, who was there at the time and said to me, he could run real fast, and even he could catch him."

"Are you coming?" Watson whispered.

"Yes, I just overheard that he broke through the window in the study on the first floor, which is where we should go."

We made our way around the back of the house to the window of which the glass was broken from the burglar.

Inside we saw an inspector talking to a lady fiddling with one of her buttons.

"Just what exactly did he steal miss?" asked the inspector, ready to write down her answer as soon as she spoke it.

"As far as I know, it was just a piece of old torn-up paper with, what it looked like to me, some sort of map on the front,"

"Do you know of what it led to?"

"No, I don't. Like I said it was just a torn-up piece of paper."

The inspector uttered a thank you and rounded up his men to leave.

"I believe it is time to go now Watson. C'mon, this way. We shall make our way back to Mr. Grover." I whispered as I crept around the corner.

But, of course, it wouldn't be that easy. For just out of sight was a tall man with blond hair and brown eyes, standing in the shadows.

"Holmes! Isn't that the burglar in the alley?" Watson whispered trying his hardest not to alert the man… but it didn't work. As soon as he saw us he ran as fast as he could.

"The guilty always run!" We both broke into a sprint, and I was right behind him. The man dashed around the corner with me right on his heels.

With every ounce of my strength I leaped onto the man and grabbed the collar of his coat, which only slowed him down a little bit. Suddenly he spun around, flinging me to the ground, and dashed off again, leaving his scarf in my hands.

"I grabbed his scarf Watson, I was that close, and he still got away. Had he wrapped this scarf around his neck one more time, I would probably have choked him and caught him. But no, fate had to intervene. Don't worry Watson, we'll catch him eventually. Let's go back to Mr. Grover now. It's sort of a long distance away, but we'll make it there in no-"

"Holmes?"

"Yes Watson?"

"It's alright to take a breath every once in a while. I don't think it would hurt you."

"Oh, yes, well, it's just the thrill of a chase, and the fact that I almost caught him, that sort of got me flustered a bit. That's all. I'm fine now."

After all that it was sort of a quiet walk home. And when we did finally made it back and down the stairs to Mr. Grover's abode there was a lot of explaining for us three to do.

"You boys look exhausted. Would you like some tea and biscuits?"

"Thank you. May I ask you a question? How did you know Mr. Barnaby?"

"Well… "He took a deep breath but before he continued he was interrupted by a knock at the trap door I supposed led outside. Mr. Grover got up to get the door, and then it was suddenly bright.

Watson stood up in surprise when he saw who had come in.

"Uncle Chester?"

"Ah Johnny, may I ask why you are here?"

"Oh that is a simple enough I could explain it Chester old' boy," said Mr. Grover with a twinkle in his eye. "This young man lives up there and has made acquaintance with your nephew, invited him over one day and they found me out. I gave them quite a fright I did when I discovered them down here." He said with a laugh at the end.

"And now you have those boys running errands for you?"

"All for a good cause, old boy. Now tell us what you have to report."

"Well," I gave a brief review of all our discoveries that day, and as I progressed the looks on their faces grew darker and darker.

"Did you catch up with him?"

"Just enough to grab his scarf from him," I said as I pulled the scarf out of my pocket.

"Marvelous Grover. Now we are all in trouble. Did you have any idea of what you've just-"

"Alright already Chester! Yes, I got us into this mess and I'll get us out just hold your horses."

"And I suppose you've got a plan too."

"Yes and its better than the last plan too."


	5. Chapter 5 The Story

**Chapter Five.  
>The Story<br>Uncle Chester**

Why did Grover have to bring them into the problem? Why couldn't it have been me in Grover's position? Getting into this mess ourselves was one thing, but getting us all out was completely another.

I didn't even notice the boy was trying to get my attention till he practically yelled, "Standing here arguing about what to do next is not going to help anything. I suggest we come up with a plan to catch him."

"It's not that simple boy. You don't know who we are dealing with-"

"That's why I'm going to help," he said.

"Me too, you can count on that." My nephew agreed.

I looked over at Grover as he looked back and said, "They've been helpful so far, maybe they can continue to be helpful."

I sighed, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Clue them in on our situation, and who we are dealing with, then devise a plan. And who better to do that than you. And don't start the story as, 'Well it all started when.' It's rather boring you know."

"Yes thank you for the advice on storytelling," said I with slight sarcasm.

"You're welcome," said he with that priceless cheesy grin.

"Before I begin I have to say… It was all Grover's fault."

He let out chuckle, and I thought, 'Let the story begin.'

"I don't even remember how the three of us met, but we did, and either the stars aligned or the three of us meeting threw the whole universe out of order. But all that is beside the point. Now here's how we got ourselves into this mess.

"There once was a mighty ship whose name is not that important right now, whose captain hired the three of us and some others to go with him on a journey that they'll never forget. That's exactly what he said too, and boy was he right.

"Now the three of us were worthy seamen, I'll explain how Barnaby became a school teacher, why Grover is down here, and why I'm currently living with you and your family a little later," said I addressing Johnny.

"So we accepted his offer, and were on the ship that very month.

"We traveled all over the world, buying and selling all kinds of goods. Business was booming to say the least so he started trying to raise the price of the goods we were trying to sell. Until one day he started a fight with someone who was trying to haggle. We all agreed to try to convince him to keep the same prices, but he would just ignore us and laugh all the way to the bank.

"Everything was getting a little out of hand. He was starting to get greedy. We had to do something. Barnaby, who had been promoted to navigator, had tried to convince him to keep the same prices, but the captain wouldn't listen.

"We got tired of it and formed a mutiny-"

"It was my idea!" said Grover very matter-of-factly.

"Do you mind Grover? I'm trying to tell the story like you asked me to."

"Sorry," he mumbled under his breath. "I was trying to help… he deserved it anyhow…"

"Anyhow we formed a mutiny. Then someone asked the question 'what are we going to do afterwards?' Good thing he asked. Since the captain was raising the prices on everything we thought it would go un-noticed if we took a little bit of the profit and saved it for after the mutiny.

"We were saving up quite a lot, too much to go un-noticed. So we found, thanks to Barnaby, a little island, no-man's land to be exact, which would be the perfect place to hide our treasure, and the island we were going to mutiny the captain on. Barnaby made a map; we tore it in five pieces, Barnaby, Grover, Hawthorne the captains right-hand, Hudson the man that kept us all in line, and I all got a piece.

"The day had come to commit the mutiny, and we all prepared for the worst.

"So there we were, pistols in hand, ready to use them if needed. We didn't want to hurt him, just make sure he didn't step foot on a ship again.

"It was oddly foggy for that time of year, and it gave me a bad feeling about what I was about to do. And I wasn't alone, for Hudson, and Grover had the same feeling. But we knew we had to do it, for the good of everyone else who was part of the crew.

"The captain was in the cabin looking over a map of our next voyage when we came in.

"Did we get a deal-?" said the captain. But before he could finish his sentence he was interrupted by Hawthorn.

"We are not going to be your crew any more, nor follow you, nor cheat anyone out of their well earned money just to profit ourselves. I'm the captain of this ship now." He said in a solemn voice.

"None of us saw it, but the captain had a pistol aimed right at me but, hidden inside his pocket.

"Everything after that went by in a flash. Barnaby shot back and barely missed his shoulder. Hawthorn came up behind him and grabbed hold of him, but that sly old seaman had taken out a knife and slung at Grover's eye. About that time Hudson had knocked him to the floor with the blunt end of his pistol.

"It took three of us to carry him out to the deck where we tied him down, and let anyone else go home that couldn't go before, which left us with, us.

"Grover's eye couldn't be repaired so we got him a patch and a glass one after it was all well over.

"So we went to the island, and left the captain there."

I looked over at the man with the eye-patch sleeping in the armchair, and laughed quietly to myself, and thought," Am I really that boring a story-teller Grover? Tell me Buddy."

Looking back at the two boys in front of me, I continued a little bit quieter, so as not to wake him up, "We gathered up the loot, divided it evenly, and went our separate ways."

The two boys sitting in front of me staring in awe of the true story I told.

"I think the plan can wait until tomorrow. I think it would be best to go now."

The boys said a quick good-bye as I left a note for Grover, and led Johnny out the door I came in.

"Did you really do all that uncle?" said Johnny as we walked down the cobblestone street.

"Of course I did! Not even the best story-teller could come up with a grand tale as that."

"Do you think you could tell me another story?"

"I had a feeling you would ask me that!" I laughed.

I talked as we walked, so we enjoyed the rest of the walk back home with tales of the deep, sea dragons and gigantic fish, and love lost at sea. His eyes just lit up like a candle.

When we got home there was a late birthday present from his parents awaiting him.

"Johnny! Would you come here for a moment? I have something for you." His mother called to him.

John came as quick as he could without running to the kitchen, and just as he stepped foot in the kitchen, his father came round the corner with a leash in hand, and at the end was a blood hound.

"Careful he's a brute!"


	6. Chapter 6 A Fortunate Turn of Events

**Chapter Six  
>A Fortunate Turn of Events<br>Watson**

"It's a dog! Come here boy! That's it. When did you get him? He's wonderful!" I exclaimed as he licked my face excitedly.

"Just today, but we've been looking at for a while, and decided it was best to get him after we moved that way we wouldn't have to wait for him to arrive and move him as well. And I thought this house hold needed a pet. So what are you going to name him?"

"I don't know. Do you know of any names good dog names Dad?"

"Oh sure, there's Sparky, Rover, Ace, Toby-"

"Toby, that's it. I like that one."

"Then Toby it is! Now it's your responsibility to take care of him. I'll buy his food and make sure he is healthy and all and you can do the rest. How's that sound?"

"I can do that! I'll take only the best care of him. Thank you Dad!" I said as I hugged him.

"Oh you're welcome."

"Come on Toby, let's go play outside!" Toby barked as if in agreement, and it made me laugh.

[Monday after school…]

"Guess what my parents gave me. A Dog! He's a good one too."

"Really, what kind of dog is he and what's his name?" asked Holmes.

"A blood hound I think, I named him Toby. The other day we were all playing hide-and-seek, Josie hid, gave me her hat and Toby always found her-"

"Watson! How brilliant!"

"What is?"

"Do you remember that scarf that I grabbed from the burglar? Well we could go back to the alley, give Toby the scent, and set him to the trail. We'll find him in no time!"

"That is brilliant! When should we go?"

"As soon as homework is finished," said Mycroft from behind us. I had to agree for there is no arguing with him.

"I suppose it wouldn't take long to finish home work before we set off. Do you think I could stay at your house while we do our homework?"

"I think it would be alright, and don't worry Mycroft, my uncle will make sure we both get our work done." Mycroft chuckled then hopped into a carriage.

"You won't be going with us?" I asked.

"Not this time. I have other things to attend to. I shall see you at supper," said he with a slight smile.

We also hopped in a carriage, and headed in the opposite direction towards my house.

When we got there, we were greeted by a very cheerful Toby. It was almost as if he knew what we were planning to do.

Later that day after homework was finished; I, Uncle Chester, and Holmes went back to his house to get the scarf. It wasn't long before we found ourselves in the very alleyway where he had lost the burglar.

"Here we are, and here's the scarf. Get a good whiff of it. That's it. Good boy. And off we go! Come on Holmes!"

Toby led us all through the city, turning to the left and to the right; all the while his nose was to the ground. It was a good, not so foggy day outside, thus making it a good day for a walk.

Uncle Chester had a curious look on his face, like he wanted to ask a question.

"Are you alright uncle? You look puzzled."

"Yes I'm alright, but I do have a question. Why do you two address each other by your last names?"

I never thought about it before, but Holmes answered for me.

"I think it's because it makes us sound more mature." The way he answered sounded more like a question.

"You don't say? Well, I don't think that would work on either me or Grover!"

About that time Toby stopped, maybe he lost the scent?

"Did you lose the scent-"I was cut off when Holmes said," Look! There he is!"

Toby picked up the scent which led to his boots. He instantly recognized us when he saw the scarf dangling in Holmes' hand.

"I know you! You're the one who stole my scarf!"

"Only because I was trying to catch you because you broke into Mr. Barnaby's house and stole something!"

"Oi! I was only following orders, and now's not the time or the place to be talking 'bout this anyways. I've got a feelin' the coppers are on to me. And I've hardly even started my job!"

"Then you wouldn't mind coming with us, would you?" asked my uncle rather sharply. The burglar took in a sharp breath and said," Hey, you're Hudson, wait no, no 'e 'ad some green eyes he did… I got it! You're Hawthorne! …no that's not either. 'E 'ad a mustache-" About that time Uncle Chester had him by the collar.

"How do you know them? Who told you what they look like?"

"Captain Milo McAllen told me. Look, can we please go somewhere else where we can't be over-heard?"

"Who's Captain McAllen?" Holmes asked.

"He's the captain I helped to mutiny," he said gravely, and then he continued rather sharply," I know of a real good place."We went back to Mr. Grover's house.

"Look what the cat dragged in! Who's this fellow?" said Mr. Grover as Uncle Chester shoved the in the burglar.

"I don't exactly know, so he is going to tell us, and start with your name," said my uncle shoving him into a chair.

"Alright I'll tell you. Just don't hurt me please.

"I'm Louis Fenton and 'bout a week ago, 'e found me when I was walking home, and offered me a lot of money if I helped him. I don't even remember the amount; I just know it was a lot. Well, I'm sort o' in need o' some financial help, so I accepted. 'E told me that all I need to do is get an old' ratty piece o' a map, all five o' them, and bring them to him, and he'd give me the loot. 'E told me who had them, their addresses, and a bit o' what they look like."

"So, you didn't murder Mr. Barnaby?" Asked Holmes.

"I'd do nuffin o' the sort. I tell you I was just in it for the money that I needed. I'm not a criminal you know."

"No you're just a burglar." said Mr. Grover matter-of-factly.

"Did he tell you why he needed them?" asked Holmes again.

"Nope, 'e just told me 'e needed them, and quick."

"Then that is what we need to find out. But how…?"

Then said my uncle, "But how indeed, my boy."

It was silent in the room for a moment. Mr. Grover's face lit up like something had just occurred to him. Then he said," What did the notes that Barnaby had say again?" I turned to the page where I had copied the notes and gave it to him.

"Danger coming, [it read] guard your piece.

"So, Barnaby knew that Milo wanted the map pieces. And it would make sense that Milo found Barnaby first, because-"

"Barnaby had made the map." said Holmes matter-of-factly.

"Hey! You're a smart one you are."

"Indeed, but there's still the question of why did he want the map." said Uncle Chester, deep in thought.

"I got an idea!" exclaimed Mr. Grover, jumping to his feet. Uncle Chester didn't look amused by this.

"Maybe we can find some of our old crew members and ask them if maybe they know!"

"That might actually work."My uncle mused. "Save one thing… we didn't really keep contact with anyone after the mutiny, so we don't know where anyone is."

Mr. Grover's face dropped, "Oh, Right…."

"Can I leave now?" Asked Louis, he was on the edge of his seat.

"No, you may not. You are going to stay with us."


	7. Chapter 7 Hawthornes House

**Chapter Seven  
>Hawthorns House<strong>

"I really need to go now. I've got some stuff I need to do, people to visit, you know." Louis said. Then we all looked at him, and it looked like an idea struck us on the head all at once.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Then Grover I believe, went up to him and said, "People to visit huh? Well we just might be looking for the same people. Do you think you could give us the addresses of our old crew members?"

"Not a chance." I could tell he regretted saying that the moment he said it. For in the next second both of them had him by the collar, and looked like they were going to punch him.

"Alright! I'll tell you! Just don't hurt me. Hawthorne lives at 435 Morley Street. I cannot remember the other, but I wrote it down somewhere." He said as he frantically looked through his pockets.

"Alright, so where is it?" Grover asked him.

"Well I remember putting it in my pocket. I must've left it at home." Next thing I know is he's being chained to a chair.

"You are going to stay here. We will be back." Said Grover and we turned to leave.

Finding the address was a bit harder than we thought. Mr. Grover hailed a cab, we got in, and asked to go to this address, and the cabbie said it didn't exist!

"If I took you there, I'd need a boat, because that address would be in the Thames River." said the cabbie.

"Then to the Thames River we go," said my uncle triumphantly.

So we were off.

"Are we really going to the Thames River?" I asked.

"Where else would he be? If Milo really knew where he lived, gave the address to that Louis fellow, then that's where he is."

"Could he also probably know where we live as well?" asked Grover.

"Not necessarily. I moved from the country, remember? And you have, quite literally, gone underground. It's not a problem at the moment. Even if he does find us, we will be able to defend ourselves. So let's just find Hawthorne."

"Well, I suppose you're right-"

"You suppose?"

"Alright, I know." said Grover with a smile.

We got to the River in no time, finding the address "in the Thames" was a little bit more time consuming. There was a little boat rental shop on the edge of the water. We went inside and asked if they have seen this man Hawthorne and they said he was living in a house boat, which would explain why the address would be "in the middle of the Thames River."

Holmes asked the man at boat shop a couple of questions, while my uncle and Mr. Grover decided what to do next. The conversation with Holmes and the man at the boat shop went something like this:

"Do you know where he could be out there?"

"Nope, can't say."

"So, how soon 'till we can get a boat?"

"Oh, I'd say 'bout noon tomorrow."

"Do you which direction he went when he left?"

"North, I believe."

"Thank you."

Holmes paused and looked at me as if to say, "What do you think of all this Watson?" But before I could say anything my uncle came over and told us what we were going to do next.

"It seems to me we can't do anything more until tomorrow, so let's retire of the night. Sound like a plan?" I yawned in response.

"Ha-ha! I concur Watson, though I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight, because of all this."

We made our way back to Holmes' house then continued our house. Toby greeted us merrily when we stepped though the front gate, then he followed us in. I made my way up the stairs to my room, dropped gratefully onto my bed, and thought of what the morning might bring.


	8. Chapter 8 Back At the Dock

**Chapter Eight  
>Back at the Dock<strong>

The next morning, I woke up early, and went with my uncle to Holmes' house only to realize that we had to go to school that day.

"I know that you want to go with us to the dock. Don't worry lad. We won't go anywhere without you. You two just go to school, and when you come back we'll all go back to the dock," said Mr. Grover keeping a keen eye on our prisoner, who was looking nervously back at him.

So the day rolled by, as we studied.

When the bell finally rang for the last time that day, we couldn't run fast enough back to Holmes' house. Thankfully there wasn't much homework that night, but we did have to have dinner before we left.

We walked to the stairs from Grover's abode to the kitchen, and I could smell supper cooking. Holmes and I ate hurriedly, and half ran back down the stairs when Mr. Harper wasn't looking.

"Wait!" said Louis just as we reached the door," Before you leave could I go."

"What? Go where?" said Mr. Grover with an impatient tone in his voice.

"You know… _go_."

"Oh, I see. Yes you may but be quick about it. It's just around that corner."

"You've got to be joking!" said he when he got there. "It's a bush!"

"No, I'm not, and we are wasting valuable time so hurry up. Chester, why don't you go out there with the boys and call us a cab, I'll be out in a minute."

It wasn't very long 'till we were finally at the dock.

"Lucky us! We came just in time!" Mr. Grover said as we got out of the cab. There was a man standing on the boat unloading something from a crate. He was very tall and had blonde hair and a mustache to match. He turned around to unload another crate when he saw us.

"Well, what do you know? Grover, is that you? And Chester too! Never thought I'd see ye again!" He said in a hoarse voice, with a keen eye on us.

"Aye, it is me. I don't suppose you've heard about Barnaby have ye?"

"Aye, poor fellow. Who do you suppose did it? Why Barnaby, of all the people out there?"

Holmes spoke up before anyone could draw a breath, "Well I think it was that no good captain Milo, and he was after the map, but we don't know why yet."

"You don't say? Well you've been investigating haven't you? You're a regular detective. If that is so, then we best find that Mr. Hudson. Now, where might that sailorman be?"

"We don't know where he is," said Holmes matter-of-factly.

"I wouldn't worry about trying to find him. I've got a plan for that," said Mr. Grover.

"Too many questions, and not enough answers. We've got to change that don't we?" Mr. Hawthorne muttered.

"Yup. What do we do?" replied Holmes.

"We go back home, and figure out what to do with Louis," said Mr. Grover.

"Who's Louis?" asked Hawthorne with a raised brow.

"He's the fellow who broke into Barnaby's house, and stole his map piece, but don't worry, he's safe, sound, 'n chained to a chair at my place."

"Oh… well that's good. I mean about the 'chained to a chair' part." Mr. Hawthorne said slowly, and then continued," What are we going to do 'bout Louis?"

"Don't worry about that either. I've got a plan. First, we are going to bribe Louis into leaving us alone, and telling us where Milo is, which shouldn't be difficult. Second, once we are all together again, we will confront Milo and demand him to tell us what he is doing and why he wants the map. "

"That might work," said my uncle.

"Now, to find that Mr. Hudson."

We then got another cab and headed back to Mr. Grover's abode. We then realized that our work was cut out for us. For below and behold, Mr. Hudson was standing just outside the kitchen window talking to someone, he never even noticed us getting out of the cab.

"What do you know? There he is. I wonder what he's doing?" my uncle exclaimed, which I thought surely the man at the window would hear him.

"Should we go talk to him?" asked Mr. Hawthorne.

"Nah, we will talk to him when he's done. You know how he is." Mr. Grover said with a half-smile, remembering how his friend used to be.

We walked silently over to the entrance to Mr. Grover's abode, trying not to be noticed.

"'Bout time you got back!" exclaimed Louis when we got inside.

Mr. Grover released Louis from the chair he was chained to and led him into the room that Holmes and I first discovered when we went down here. We, of course, followed him. Mr. Grover then bent down to the big, old-looking chest and took off the lock.

"Why is the lock sawed off?" asked my uncle, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I lost the key." He replied with a grin.

He opened it up for us to behold.

"Old newspapers?" asked Holmes, with a very puzzled look on his face.

"Aye, but it's what underneath the old newspapers that I'm after," said Mr. Grover as he started to push them away. Something very shiny caught my eye as he moved more news papers away. It was gold, and lots of it.

"What is that?" I asked. I could feel my jaw drop a bit.

"It's the money that we saved up before we mutinied Milo. It's only a fifth o' it."

"That's only a fifth? It looks like a fortune!" exclaimed Holmes.

"Ha ha! Well it goes quick if you know what to do with it! How much did the no good captain Milo pay you to get the pieces of the map he was looking for?" He said, addressing Louis.

"Why do _you_ want to know?"

"Because I'll double it to get you to leave us alone."

Louis told him, and he started to count it out, and put it into a bag.

"Where is Milo now?"

"I last saw him at a pub on Baker Street. That's all I know."

"Would he be there now do you think? Should we wait till tomorrow to see?" Asked Grover.

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea," Said my uncle. "We should probably be heading home now John."

"Okay, uncle." We said our goodbyes and headed off to our house.


End file.
